Putin ally killed after explosion at “elite” Moscow building: Reports
Armen Sarkisyan, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin and creator of a battalion for the leader’s military, is reported to have been killed in a grenade blast at an elite residential building in Moscow on Monday.
Sarkisyan died in intensive care after Russian state media said he had been hospitalized following the explosion in northwest Moscow, multiple Russian news outlets reported.
Newsweek has contacted the Kremlin and Ukrainian authorities for comment by email.
Russian Telegram channels report that Armen Sarkisyan, founder of the ArBat battalion in the so-called “DPR”, might have been killed in a Moscow apartment building – an explosion took place there.
According to other sources, Sarkisyan survived but was seriously wounded and is in… pic.twitter.com/oCLRKyNer5
— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) February 3, 2025
Why It Matters
Sarkisyan, a Ukrainian separatist fighting Kyiv, is an ally of the Russian president. He was tasked with forming the Arbat combat unit to fight Ukrainian troops in the war. The battalion operates in Russia’s border region of Kursk, and is made up of “repeat offenders convicted of serious crimes,” according to the Ukrainian special service.
What To Know
Russian state media initially reported that Sarkisyan was wounded in an assassination attempt when an explosion went off at the first floor of a residential building called “Scarlet Sails” on Aviatsionnaya Street in Moscow. The apartment complex was described by Russian news outlets as being “elite.”
The explosive device went off when Sarkisyan entered the building with his security guards. One person was killed and four others were wounded in the blast, state-run news agency Tass initially reported, citing emergency services.
“The purpose of the explosion in the Scarlet Sails residential complex was an attempted murder. Who organized it is being established,” a law enforcement source told Tass.
TATYANA MAKEYEVA/AFP/Getty Images
“Sarkisyan was hospitalized in serious condition; his leg will be amputated,” Russian state-run news agency RIA Novosti reported, citing a source in law enforcement.
Several Telegram channels, including 112, reported that his “left leg was blown off in the explosion.”
“He is in a coma,” the source said.
Shortly later, 112 said he “died in intensive care without regaining consciousness.” His death was also reported by Mash, a Telegram news channel that reportedly has links to Russian law enforcement, as well as Russian newspapers Kommersant and Izvestia.
Arbat was formed in September 2022, and is under the control of the Russian Ministry of Defense. It has been operating in Russia’s Kursk region since the summer of 2024.
Ukraine hasn’t claimed responsibility for Monday’s blast. In December, Kyiv said it was behind the killing of Russian General Igor Kirillov in an explosion outside an apartment building in Moscow.
What People Are Saying
The Moscow prosecutor’s office told journalists that it “is monitoring the establishment of the circumstances of the incident in the residential complex on Aviatsionnaya Street.”
Moscow’s regional investigative committee said: “Investigators and forensic experts from the capital’s Investigative Committee, together with operational services, are examining the scene of the incident. Investigative actions and operational-search activities are being carried out aimed at establishing all the circumstances of the incident.”
What Happens Next
An investigation into the explosion is underway.
